


Love Through the Ages

by fishflake



Category: VIXX
Genre: Alternate Universe - Vampire, M/M, based off a tumblr post, i'll warn you now there's not much cool sexy vampire stuff in here, there's more talk of taekwoon's porch than anything
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-05
Updated: 2021-02-05
Packaged: 2021-03-17 10:20:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,285
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29223843
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fishflake/pseuds/fishflake
Summary: “Can you let me finish?” Hakyeon says with a pout. “I went to the museum, and their current exhibition is calledLove Through the Ages– a beautiful exhibition, by the way, love letters and poetry historians have found from regular people in centuries past – but I saw something particularly interesting when I got to the 1800’s.”“Interesting enough to burn my porch?” Doubtful. Taekwoon lived through the 1800’s, he knows what they were like. The most interesting thing he experienced that century was meeting Hakyeon, and currently that’s seeming less interesting and more like a liability.
Relationships: Cha Hakyeon | N/Jung Taekwoon | Leo
Comments: 18
Kudos: 46





	Love Through the Ages

_“What the fuck, Taekwoon.”_

Taekwoon can’t say it’s a particularly surprising text to be receiving from Hakyeon. His first instinct is to ignore it and continue to take in this gorgeous fall night from his porch, basking in the moonlight and in the comforting warmth of the mug of coffee in his hands.

It’s the first peaceful night he’s had in what feels like forever. He had to refinish this very porch last weekend, and he’s had to feed the past few nights.

It’s not nearly as romantic as popular media seems to think. If anything, it’s increasingly become a hassle in modern times. He longs for the days vampires could just pick off the loners at a village’s edge and be done with it without having to worry about being caught by security cameras and cell phones and-

Alas, his phone buzzes again. Wretched thing. He only has it because of Hakyeon in the first place.

_“Taekwoon!!”_

Neither text provides much context as to what the hell Hakyeon is talking about, so Taekwoon is forced to respond with the standard _“what?”_

_“Why didn’t you say anything?”_

_“about what?”_ Taekwoon types back, sighing exasperatedly. He realizes Hakyeon is probably sighing exasperatedly himself at that response.

_“I’m coming over.”_

_“why didn’t i say anything about you coming over?”_

Hakyeon stops responding then, and Taekwoon realizes belatedly that he meant he actually is coming over. Right now. Interrupting Taekwoon’s peaceful evening with his nonsense.

Taekwoon sighs and tries to make the most of the alone time he has left, but it doesn’t last long. A circular patch of the porch next to him starts to smoke, then glows orange, then completely ignites.

And there Hakyeon appears, stepping daintily out of the flames as they die back down.

He knew Hakyeon was spending too much time around those two demon boys he likes. They’re teaching him their tricks. He has no business warping through Hell just to come pester Taekwoon.

“I just refinished this porch,” Taekwoon scoffs. “That better not leave a mark.”

“You can take it up with Hongbin if it does, he’s the one who taught me,” Hakyeon says with a shrug. “I had to come quickly. This is important.”

Taekwoon looks back down at the porch. It’s left a mark. It’s still smoldering, in fact. “It better be.”

Hakyeon pays no mind to the damage and sits himself down on Taekwoon’s porch swing. He kicks his feet a bit before saying “I went to the museum.”

“You burnt my porch to tell me you went to the museum?”

“Can you let me finish?” Hakyeon says with a pout. “I went to the museum, and their current exhibition is called _Love Through the Ages_ – a beautiful exhibition, by the way, love letters and poetry historians have found from regular people in centuries past – but I saw something particularly interesting when I got to the 1800’s.”

“Interesting enough to burn my porch?” Doubtful. Taekwoon lived through the 1800’s, he knows what they were like. The most interesting thing he experienced that century was meeting Hakyeon, and currently that’s seeming less interesting and more like a liability.

“Well, I took a picture of it,” Hakyeon says, reaching for his phone in his pocket. “Why don’t I read it to you, and you can tell me?”

Hakyeon is really no better with modern technology than Taekwoon is, so it takes him a minute of fumbling through menus on his phone to get to the picture. He clears his throat ceremoniously before he begins reading.

“ _‘My dearest Hakyeon,’_ ” he says, and oh no.

“Oh no,” Taekwoon says.

“Oh yes,” Hakyeon responds before continuing. “‘ _I might as well forgo formalities. I’ve waited long enough. Centuries, it feels like, I’ve contemplated how I should tell you. I’ve decided that I should just put it simply; I know you need not something grandiose, and it would be unlike myself, regardless. As such, allow me to say: I am in love with you. You’ve become the most important thing in the world to me, and I can no longer imagine my life without you in it. With all of my heart, I love you, Hakyeon. You can do with this what you wish – ignore it, even – but I felt you deserved to know. I hope you understand. I anxiously await your response.’_ ”

Taekwoon doesn’t even notice he’s wincing until Hakyeon’s (blessedly) stopped talking. “Yes, that certainly sounds like an interesting thing to see at the museum. Odd that you’d see a letter with your name on it from- the 1800’s, you said?”

“Yes,” Hakyeon says. “Odd indeed that I’d see a letter from the 1800’s that opens with ‘ _my dearest Hakyeon_ ,’ the exact way a friend of mine actually did open his letters to me in the 1800’s. The handwriting even looks just like his. If only I could remember that friend’s name – the letter isn’t signed, and it’s been so long, but I could have sworn it was...hm...‘Taekwoon,’ perhaps?”

Yes, perhaps. Perhaps Taekwoon does remember a night spent toiling over a letter by candlelight, desperately writing and rewriting before ultimately discarding it and pretending it never happened.

Until now, centuries later, because some pesky, _nosy_ historian somehow found that discarded letter, and put it on display for all the world to see.

“The name does sound familiar,” Taekwoon says, pointedly turning back to lean against the railing and face the yard instead of Hakyeon.

The swing creaks as Hakyeon gets up, bringing himself to stand next to Taekwoon. “You never sent it, did you?”

“Of course not.”

“Why not?”

A fair question. At the time he convinced himself it was because he felt Hakyeon deserved a better confession, but could never quite figure out what “better” entailed.

He acknowledges now that it was fear, cliché as it is. The life of an immortal is a lonely one, and he had no one before he met Hakyeon. He still remembers the night they met, and how even then he already felt Hakyeon was something special.

Saying their goodbyes hours after meeting, writing that letter decades after meeting, standing here on the porch with him centuries after meeting; the feeling has always been the same. He could write the same words tonight and still mean every one of them.

Most of all, he meant when he said he couldn’t imagine his life without Hakyeon, which is exactly why he couldn’t bring himself to send the letter. He didn’t want to open himself up to the possibility of discovering this relationship wasn’t so important to Hakyeon – or, worse, the possibility of outright chasing Hakyeon off. Whatever desire Taekwoon had for more was outweighed by the fear of losing what he already had.

Hundreds of years and a scorched porch later, it admittedly seems a bit less likely he’s at risk of losing Hakyeon anytime soon, no matter how many love letters he sends.

“For what it’s worth,” Hakyeon says softly. “You’re the most important thing in the world to me, too.”

He says it so simply, as if it’s a given, that Taekwoon wonders if he even realizes how much it means. “It’s worth more than you could ever imagine.”

Hakyeon hums. “You should have told me back then. But I’m glad I know now.”

“Yes,” Taekwoon says. It’s a weight off his chest to have it out in the open, but he can’t help but feel a bit regretful that it was only thanks to an exhibit at the museum. “I just wish I would have told you myself.”

“You did though, didn’t you?” Hakyeon says, turning to Taekwoon and smiling gently. “It just took a couple hundred years to get to me.”

**Author's Note:**

> "Why are vampire stories always I Want To Drink The Sexy Neck Milkshake and never two vampires texting about the passionate letter one wrote to the other in 1863 but never sent that the other just saw in the Smithsonian’s fall exhibition on Love Through the Ages and what the fuck, Claude, why didn’t you say anything" - [tumblr user galwednesday](https://galwednesday.tumblr.com/post/616944185600360448/thinking-abt-immortality-and-how-meticulously)
> 
> me: vampire au isn't really my thing  
> me: anyways here's my vampire au fic
> 
> come say hi on [twitter](https://twitter.com/chahakyiff) and [tumblr](https://fishflake.tumblr.com/)


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